Glue supply means for packaging machines



Oct. 23, 1951 M P. NEAL GLUE SUPPLY MEANS FOR PACKAGING MACHINES 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 1, 1947 Oct. 23, 1951 NEAL 2,572,047

GLUE SUPPLY MEANS FOR PACKAGING MACHINES Filed July 1, 1947 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Oct. 23, 1951 M. P. NEAL GLUE SUPPLY MEANS FOR PACKAGING MACHINES 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed July 1, 1947 Eve W707" FJ7QZ Oct. 23, 1951 M. P. NEAL 2,572,047

GLUE SUPPLY MEANS FOR PACKAGING MACHINES Filed July 1, 1947 e Sheets-Sheet 4 Oct. 23, 1951 M. P. NEAL 2,572,047

GLUE SUPPLY MEANS FOR PACKAGING MACHINES Filed July 1, 1947 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 9 i: ill'iiii iiiiiiiiliii in Oct. 23, 1951 M. P. NEAL 2,572,047

GLUE SUPPLY MEANS FOR PACKAGING MACHINES Filed July 1, 1947 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Mu k wk NM w k m\\ mm.

Patented Oct. 23, 1951 GLUE SUPPLY MEANS FOR mcnmas PACKAGING Morris P. Neal, Quincy, Ill., assignor to ii-B-(l- Packaging Machine Corporation, a corporation of Illinois Application July 1, mascara no. 758,418

2 Claims. (01. 91-18) This invention relates to a packaging machine for forming boxes, or the like, of paper, cardboard, fiberboard, and the like.

The ordinary shipping cartons of paper, pasteboard, fiberboard, and like materials, are usually provided to the user in a flattened form, and the user proceeds tostraighten them out with the opposite sides parallel and to glue the bottom flaps or ears. This involves considerable labor, as the average buyer of this type of container uses a considerable number of boxes. In order to lessen the amount of work involved in forming theboxes, I have invented an automatic packaging machine, wherein the unglued boxes are inthemachine and the glueis applied to the outsidesurfaces oi the inner ears on the bottom of the box, and the outer ears are folded over into contact with the glued side of the inner ears while the boxes travel throughthemachine.

- The new machine is readily adjustable to receive boxes of all sizes, and it will operate continuously with very little attention. a V V The new machine has an important advantage in thatit can be built to occupy very small space and will be lvery light in weight. This is accomplished by making the machine automatic in op ration with the gluing and folding operations taking place rapidlyv and with very little, if any, wastemotion. V r V The invention also includes a new apparatus for. applying glue to the earsof the boxes as the boxes are passed over the gluing station. This new glue app means is quite important, as it permits the use of inexpensive glue, such as water glass, which has heretofore been difllcult to use because of its tendency to set to a glass-like solid. The glue applying means is constructed as a unit, so that it can be readily inserted into and removed from the machine when it is desired to convert from one size box to another size. This is an important feature for the additional reason that it aids in cleaning the glue applying means. It is especially necessary to clean the glue from the machine when water glass is used, as ordinarily all water glass must be removed when the machine is shut down for any length of time. In the present machine this cleaning is very simple. The invention likewise includes an improved belt for forcing the boxes through the machine.

Asin the ordinary installation, the boxes are forced through the machine empty and as they the embodiment shownlin the accompanying drawings. '0! .{fihe r s. F -MS al .e'levatmn of a packaging machine embodying the V invention; ,2 is a plan view of themachine; Fig. 3 isa vertical seotiontaken along lineH'of 4; Fig. a is a horizontalsection taken along line 44 of. Fig.1; Fig.5 is a vertical section taken along line 55 of -Fig. 3; 6 is a plan view showing the glue applying apparatus; Fig. 7 is a vertical section taken along line.'|--|. ofFig. 6; Fig. 8 is a vertical section through the front shapinember of the machine illustrating how the I bottom inner ears'of 'a box are folded preparatory to applying'glue thereto; Fig. 9'is. a vertical section taken'along line 89 of Fig.8; Fig. 10 is a plan view showing the glue applying roller; Fig. 11 is a bottom view of apaper-box'showing the glue pattern on the outer-surfacesof'the inner ears of the bottom of a box; Fig. 12 is an enlarged sectional elevation; of a-portion of one belt used in forcing the boxes through the machine; and Fig. 13 is-a section through the belt ofFig. 12. r

The packaging machine shown in the accompanying drawings includes the packaging machine III which is the subject of this invention and a conveyor apparatus II for conveying the boxes away from the packaging machine. The packaging machine comprises a framework I! supported on wheels 13. On the top of the framework there is located an extended base member 14 for holding and aligning the boxes as they enter the glue applying portion of the machine. At the end of the base member, away from the machine, is located a curved slide it for bending the ears on the bottom of the box into the plane of the end of the box, and the box rests on base member I with these ears turned in (Fig. 8).

In order to convey the boxes through the machine, there are provided a pair of endless friction members 16, such as belts, each passing around a pair of rollers i'l. These friction members may be rubber coated flexible belts andare arranged parallel to each other in a horizontal plane and in vertical alignment. When a box is moved along the base M into engagement between the belts I l, the belts immediately grasp the opposite sides of the box and move it through the machine. In order to assist in'guiding the box into engagement with the belts, there are provided curved guide members l8, at the entrance of the belts.

Each belt I is provided with a rubber surface with this surface having deep indentations Hia therein so asto provide. sharp. rough-edged projections lGb on the surface of the belt that is adapted to engage the sides of the boxes. It was found that ordinary, belts slipped against the sides of the boxes as the boxes are ordinarily put through the machine empty. The present improved belt avoids this slipping.

As each box moves through the machine, it passes over a station where glue is applied to the outer surfaces of the folded inner ears. The glue applying means includes a glue reservoir l8, wherein the glue is maintained at a constant level. Within the glue reservoir Is there is located a cylindrical roller 2| with its bottom portion immersed in glue and its top portion normally contacting a box passing thereover. There is also located within the reservoir I9 a second roller '22 above the level of the glue and in contacting relationship with the first roller 2|. At the center of the first roller, there is provided a deep circumferential groove 23, while on the second roller 22 there is provided a circumferential raised portion 24, for engagement with the groove.

applied to the adjacent edges of the folded ears as the box passes than over. The raised portion 24 on the second roller 22 is provided so that glue will not pile up within the groove.

The surface of the second roller 22 is provided with narrow circumferential ridges '25 separated by narrow valleys 28. This construction serves to squeeze the glue on the surface of the first roller 2| into narrow parallel strips, as shown in Figure 10, thereby providing more uniform application of the glue to the box. In order to prevent glue from piling up on the ends of the first roller 2| and hardening, there are provided scrapers 21 mounted within the glue reservoir is above the level of the glue and in contact with the ends of the first roller 2|. As the roller is revolved. substantially all glue is scraped from the ends of the roller.

The glue reservoir l3. first roller 2|, second roller 22, and scrapers 21 are all constructed as aunit in order to permit easy insertion of the unit into the machine, and removal therefrom when it is desired to clean the rollers and reservoir, or when the machine is to be changed to with a'second gear 34, which in turn is driven 'by a third gear 35. Also contacting the second gear 34 is a fourth gear 36, which drives a fifth gear 31 attached to the second roller 22. The reservoir IS, with attached gears 33, 34, 36 and 31, may be easily lifted from the machine. Then later it may be reinserted into the machine by merely lowering it into place, so thatthe second gear 34 meshes with the third gear 35. The

4 union 32 permits regulating the effective length of the conduit 3|.

The glue supply conduit 3| leading to a point beneath the glue reservoir I9 is provided with an upwardly extending annular portion 3|a beneath the reservoir. The bottom of the reservoir is provided with a downwardly extending annular portion |9a that is adapted to be aligned directly above the annular portion 3|a. Mounted on the v annular portion 3|a there is provided a rubber collar I I!) attached to the portion 3|a as by wire rings Hi. The collar III) is adapted to telescopically receive the annular portion'lila on the bottom of the glue reservoir [3. Due to the resiliency of the rubber collar. it forms a seal with both annular portions |8a and 3|a. With this arrangement there are no unions to unscrew as the glue conduit to the reservoir I!) may be assembled by merely placing the reservoir on the parallel bars 30 and at the same time'inserting the extension |9a into the collar H0 as is shown in Fig. 7. When it is necessary to clean the reservoir and the conduit any adhesion between the extension |9a and the collar |||l maybe easily broken by manipulating the flexible rubber collar H0.

The gear 35 which drives the rollers 2| and 22 is mounted on a shaft Hi. This shaft is driven by a sprocket 9| which is in turn driven by a chain 68 passing over an idler sprocket 92 and to a sprocket 61 driven by the motor 64 through a gear reducing box 65. The second roller 22 within the glue reservoir I9 is preferably driven at a faster rate thanthe first roller 2| so as to have a wiping action thereon. This is provided by having the fifth gear 31 that is attached to the second roller 22 smaller than gear 33 attached to first roller 2l.

In order to provide a constant level of glue in the reservoir I9, there is mounted onthe side of the machine a bottle 38 in inverted position. This bottle is held in position in a glue pan 39, fastened to the side of the machine by a bracket 40, and the opening in the bottle 38 is held above the bottom of the pan by means of three equally spaced supports 4|. The conduit 3| connects the bottom of the pan 39 to the bottom of the glue reservoir IS. The level of the glue in the pan 38 and the reservoir I8 is substantially the same and the level is kept constant in the pan 33 by air entering the bottle 38 when the glue in the pan falls below the level of the bottle opening. This permits glue to escape from the bottle into the pan until the glue again covers the bottle holding it against a curved seat 43. The yoke 42 is held tightly against the bottle by means of a spring 44 fastened to the yoke and to the framework of the machine.

The bracket 40 which supports the bottle 38 is removably mounted on the outside of the framework l2 of the machine. This support is maintained by having a pair of pins "2 extending through openings in the framework l2 and in the bracket 40 as is shown in Fig.6. Each of these pins 2 is provided near its outer end with a hole adapted to receive a smaller pin H3, as is shown in Fig. 6. Each pin 3 is preferably attached to the bracket 40 by means of a chain H4 or similar flexible attachment so that the pin H3 will be handy when needed. With thisarrangement, the bracket 40 is firmly held against the framework l2, but may be easily removed by merely withdrawing the small pins 3 from their holes in the large pins 2. The bracket 40 may be just as easily replaced against the side of the framework once it has been removed.

In order to provide for a tight fit between the belts l6 and the contacting sides of the box passing through the machine, there is provided a series of rollers 45 on the side of the belts away from the path of the boxes. These rollers are helo,in brackets 46 and are pressed against the belts bysprings that force the rollers towards the center of the machine. The springs operate on slidable rods 48, held in horizontal position by mountings 49, with the rods carrying the ends of the rollers. The rods, mountings and springs are provided at each end of the vertical rollers.

The rollers I! which carry the endless belts I! are arranged for movement toward and away from each other, so as to accommodate boxes of different sizes. This movement is caused by a crank 50 attached to a horizontal rod extending through the machine. A sprocket 52 a mounted onthis rod, near the crank, and this sprocket carries a chain 53, passing to the rear of the machine and over another sprocket 54, attached to a second=horizontal rod- 55 at the rear of the machine. The rods 5| and 55 are threaded on each side of the center of the machine-so that as the rod is turned blocks 56 at the rear of the machine, and blocks 6| at the front of themachine, upon which the rollers I! are mounted, move toward and away from each other. A block is provided for each roller, there-being two at the front of the machine-and'two attherear. The blocks 6| 7 at the front of the machine slide ona flat horizontal bar 51,- while :the blocks 56 at the rear of themachine slide on a second-flat bar 58. Each block carries a mounting 59 for aroller I1 and has a. thread engaging portion 60 for engaging the threads on the rod 55. 7 Thus, as'the crank 50 is turned, blocks 56, with the rollers I! mounted thereon, are moved and the threads on the rods 5| and 55 are arranged so that each pair of rollers move towards and away from each other. r r 7 The machine is operated by means of a motor 84 that drives a gear reducing box 65. This gear box 65 has external sprockets 65 and .81, with drive chains 68 and 68a operating a drive. shaft I0 atthe front of. the machine and asecond :lrive shaft. H at the rear of the machine. The 0 first drive shaft is operated by a sprocket ii :hatis engaged by chain 68 and the second drive shaft H is operated by a sprocket 69 that is engaged by chain 68a. The first drive shaft 10 operates the glue applying rollers 2| and 22 through gear 35. The gear 35 is movable along shaft 10, to accommodate glue reservoirs IQ of varying widths. This is accomplished by having a. long key-way 12 on the shaft 10 with the gear 35 slidably keyed thereto.

The shaft H is for driving the rollers at the rear of the machine and this operates right-angle gears 13 and 14, with a pair of these being provided for each .roller II at the rear of the machine. One gear I3 is keyed to the shaft II, while the second gear 14 is keyed to the shaft 59 carrying the roller l'l. Thus, if the shaft H is revolved, the pair of rollers at the rear of the machine are also revolved. Each pair of gears 13 and 14 are mounted on a block 55. and are moved along shaft 'H as the blocks 58 are moved toward and away from each other bythe turning of the crank 50. The rollers at the front of the machine are not positively driven, but are 6 merely idler rollers revolving on their shafts 83, held by blocks 8|.

The boxes travel on a'central dividing plate 15, arranged vertically through the longitudinal center of the machine. On either side of this plate and toward the rear of the machine there are provided curved plates 16 that are gently curved from a vertical alignment near the center of the machine to a horizontal alignment at the rear of the machine in order to turn the depend ing ears of the box up into the plane of the bottom of the box and press these cars against the glue surfaces of the inner ears.

In order to hold the boxes against the glue applying means as each box travels through the machine, there are provided between the belts II, but placedabove them, two parallel rods 11. These rods, as shown in Fig. 2, extend from the rear of the machine to a point just beyond the center of the machine. The rods have their front ends Ila curved upwardly. The rods are held in a framework 5 which is attached to the top conveyor portion I8 of the rear conveyor machine II. The framework H5 is located above the rods I1 and extends back above the conveyor'portion 18 with this conveyor portion also being mounted on the framework H5. -The rodshave their rear ends l'lb extending upwardly and bolted to framework H5. The front ends of the rods immediately behind the upwardly curved portion "a are attached to the front end of the framework H5 by means of a bracket 8.

In order to fold the front top inner end of the box into the plane of the top of the box, there is provided a plate i ll sloped downwardly and inwardly, as shown in Fig. 1. This plate has its .topedge attached to a rod'support H8 which in turn' is attached to the bracket H8 that extends between the rods l1 and the framework H5. The bottom edge of the sloped plate I" extends back and is attached to a vertical plate 9 which is in turn attached to the rod support H8. This vertical plate 'I I! gives rigidity to the structure and also serves to hold the inner flaps on the top of the'box in the plane of the top of the box. Thisplane is adapted to be located between the adjacentedges of the outer top flaps of the box when they have been turned into the plane of the top of the box.

The outer flaps of the box are turned into the plane of the top of the box by means of a pair of rod members I20 also attached to the bracket Hi2 that supports the parallel rods 11. These rod members I20 are arranged in a single plane and have the inner ends adjacent each other as can be seen in Fig. 2. As a box is moved into the machine, these rod members I20 engage the outer top flaps of the box and fold them over into the plane of the top of the box. With this arrangement, the top irmer flaps are folded over into the plane of the box and the outer flaps are folded over on top of the inner flaps by the time the box reaches the parallel rods 11.

In order to move the rods TI and the top conveyor portion H! of the rear conveyor machine ll up and down to accommodate boxes of different sizes, there are provided vertical bars ll mounted on the rear conveyor machine ll. These bars are provided with toothed edges forming racks 82. A small pinion gear 83 meshes with each rack with these pinion gears being mounted on the top conveyor portion 18. The pinion gears 83 are operated by means of a rod 84 which is provided with a worm gear '5. The worm gear causes rotation of the pinion gears 03 on rotation of the rod ll.

The conveyor machine, which is attached to the packaging machine, conveys the boxes away from the packaging machine and serves to hold the glued flaps pressed to each other while the glue dries. This conveyor machine comprises a body portion 86, mounted on wheels 01, and has endless belts 08 and 09 for contacting the top x through the machine. The base ll stops short of the glue reservoir I9, but a small rectangular plate 91 covers the front of the reservoir and is located over the second glue roller 22. The plate 91 is supported on each transverse edge by hooks 98 grasping studs 98 and resting on parallel studs I00. The plate 91 is held on the studs by its weight only. As each box passes over the gluing roller 2I glue is applied in the pattern shown in Fig. 11. After passing over the gluing roller the box is supported on the top edge of the dividing plate 15. This dividing plate is held at the rear of the machine and rests at its front end on the side of the glue reservoir I9. As the box continues its travel, curved plates 16 bend the outer ears 96 into contact with the glued inner ears 9!, and the box passes on out of the machine into the conveyor machine I I. The plate I5 supports the boxes in the central zone lying between the adjacent edges of the outer ears 96. This zone is normally located on either side of a line down the longitudinal center of the box. As the gluing and forming operations take place rapidly the packaging machine can be built very short with resulting savings of space and. weight. The boxes follow each other in rapid succession through the packaging machine.

There is provided on the rear portion of the sloped plate III an adjustable V-shaped member I25 with the point of the V extending toward the rear of the machine. The sides of the V extend toward but are spaced from the rod members I20. This V-shaped member I25 holds the outside edges of the inner flaps down as the top flaps are folded over by rod members I20 into the plane of the top of the box. The vertical plate II9 prevents the top flaps from overlap- 5d ping and also aids in holding the inner flaps inner top flap into the plane of the top of the 8 box. The rear top inner flap is pushed down by band so that it also will be held down by the approximately horizontal portion of the plate member I I1.

Certain features of the machine which is the subject of this invention are described and claimed in my copending application Serial No. 622,354, filed October 15, 1945, now Patent No. 2,547,963.

Having described my invention as related to one embodiment of the same, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited by any of the details of description, unless otherwise specified, but is rather to be construed broadly within its .spirit and scope as set out in the accompanying claims.

1 claim:

1. In a packaging machine for forming paper boxes and the like, apparatus comprising a glue receptacle, a removable glue reservoir, a conduit for conducting glue from the receptacle to the reservoir including a rigidly mounted conduit portion having its inner and extending upwardiy and adjacent the bottom of the reservoir, 9. short downwardly extending second conduit portion on the reservoir aligned with said upwardly extending and of the rigid conduit portion, a flexible connector sleeve joining the adjacent ends of said conduit portions when the removable reservoir is placed in position in said machine, said sleeve being attached to one of said end portions and slidably receiving the other end portion, and means for guiding the movement of said reservoir in the machine so that said ends of the conduit portions are automatically aligned and the slidably-received end of said other conduit portion is automatically introduced into said flexible connector sleeve to make sealing engagement therewith.

2. The packaging machine of claim 1 wherein said flexible connector sleeve comprises a rubber collar attached to the upwardly extending end of said rigid conduit portion and receiving said second conduit portion.

. MORRIS P. NEAL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 829,948 Chapman Sept. 4, 1906 848,734 Frost Apr. 2, 1907 1,218,419 Labombarde Mar. 6, 1917 1,242,945 Johnson Oct. 16, 1917 1,422,300 Pape July 11, 1922 1,423,095 Ferguson July 18, 1922 1,849,938 Lewis Mar. 15, 1932 2,114,453 Osgood Apr. 19, 1938 2,142,318 Langsner Jan. 3, 1939 2,338,138 Sillars Jan. 4, 1944 2,341,160 Osgood Feb. 8, 1944 

